Alberta Investment Management Corp Grows Stock Position in Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH)

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its holdings in Methanex Corporation by a staggering 1,499.0%, acquiring an additional 766,000 shares, bringing their total to approximately 817,100 shares worth $28.67 million.
• Methanex's recent earnings report showed earnings per share of $0.97, surpassing estimates of $0.42, but revenue decreased by 13.4% year-over-year to $808.46 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.185 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of 2.2%, with a payout ratio of 24.83%.

Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Methanex Corporation (NASDAQ:MEOH - Free Report) TSE: MX by 1,499.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 817,100 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 766,000 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp owned about 1.21% of Methanex worth $28,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MEOH. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Methanex by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,224,388 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $42,931,000 after purchasing an additional 147,195 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Methanex during the 1st quarter worth $870,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Methanex by 25.7% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 4,190 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Methanex by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 119,759 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $4,202,000 after buying an additional 1,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Methanex by 41.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,276,649 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $44,798,000 after buying an additional 376,365 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MEOH shares. CIBC upped their price target on Methanex from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperformer" rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen lowered Methanex from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial set a $45.00 target price on Methanex and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Methanex from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $48.00 target price on shares of Methanex and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Sunday, May 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Methanex has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $44.88.

Methanex Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:MEOH traded up $0.49 on Tuesday, hitting $33.60. 321,696 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 562,935. Methanex Corporation has a 52 week low of $25.46 and a 52 week high of $54.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 2.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.68. The company has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90 and a beta of 0.93.

Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH - Get Free Report) TSE: MX last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.55. Methanex had a return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 7.02%. The company had revenue of $808.46 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $835.04 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. Methanex's revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Methanex Corporation will post 4.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Methanex Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.185 per share. This represents a $0.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. Methanex's dividend payout ratio is 21.83%.

Methanex Company Profile

Methanex Corporation produces and supplies methanol in China, Europe, the United States, South America, South Korea, Canada, and Asia. The company also purchases methanol produced by others under methanol offtake contracts and on the spot market. In addition, it owns and leases storage and terminal facilities.